December 2011 MMA News Archive

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"LAS VEGAS -- Brock Lesnar took one last kick to his stomach and crumpled at the side of the cage, unable to fight back when Alistair Overeem pounced.
Lesnar had been finished by a 6-foot-5 Dutch kick boxer in the first round at UFC 141. A few minutes later, the UFC's former heavyweight champion finished his own meteoric mixed martial arts career.
Lesnar retired from the UFC after Overeem stopped him with one vicious kick to the body at 2:26 of the first round in their heavyweight bout Friday night, leaving the UFC heading into 2012 without its biggest pay-per-view star.
"This is the last time you'll see me in the octagon," Lesnar said."
This is the right move i think for him personally, i dont see him being able to beat top 3 HW so no title he is stuck, and will be nothing more then a title elim fighter...he is no longer truely relevent and doesnt seem to want to fight. Best to stop now keep a respectiableish record. Sucks for UFC a big loss PPV wise.

In the latest legal salvo between Alistair Overeem and his former managers at Golden Glory, a lawyer for the MMA team today obtained a pre-judgement from a judge to garnish the fighter's wages for his bout tonight against Brock Lesnar.
The order requires the Nevada State Athletic Commission to withhold a $241,285.49 check Overeem is slated to receive for the fight, which headlines UFC 141 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
"It would have been ideal if a lawsuit could have been avoided," Roderick J. Lindblom, the lawyer representing the MMA team, stated in a press release issued today. "We wish Alistair well in the fight, and in fact, have a financial interest in his continued success. Unfortunately, my clients simply had no choice."
A bond of $200,000 is required to execute the order; however, it is unknown whether that bond has been deposited to the Clark County, Nevada court in which it was filed.
"Whatever valid order is in effect, we will certainly comply with," UFC chief legal counsel Laurence Epstein today told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).
On Thursday Lindblom, who represents Golden Glory and its corporate parent Knockout Investments, filed suit in a Clark County alleging that Overeem breached a management agreement struck in Holland four years ago.
"There has been some consternation about the timing of a lawsuit filed by Knock Out Investments/Golden Glory against Alistair Overeem," today's release stated. "We've been in discussions with Mr. Overeem's legal counsel since Nov. 7, and there has been no progress regarding the dispute.
"The reality is that a fighter is paid within 24 hours of the bout. Given past failure to pay management and training fees, there is serious concern on my client’s part that Mr. Overeem will simply walk away with the money. "
The judgement applies to 30 percent of Overeem's show and win purses, any performance bonuses he may receive, and any proceeds he may receive from the pay-per-view event per his UFC contract...

One thing's certain: Brock Lesnar and fellow headliner Alistair Overeem will be the top earners at tonight's UFC 141 event.
Nevada State Athletic Commission executive director Keith Kizer today emailed the list of officially disclosed paydays to MMAjunkie.com.
Lesnar makes a flat $400,000 for the event. Overeem, meanwhile, earns a base pay of $264,285.71 and an additional $121,428.57 as a "win bonus" if victorious.

LAS VEGAS -- No matter what happens at UFC 141, it's been a good year for Donald Cerrone. He debuted in the UFC, racked up four wins in four fights, and pocketed more than $200,000 in post-fight bonuses alone. For a guy who was scraping by on WEC wages this time last year, that's good money.
"And it's gone," Cerrone told reporters with a Dennis the Menace grin earlier this week, explaining, "I now own everything I ever wanted."
In case you haven't noticed by now, Cerrone's the kind of guy who marches to the beat of his own drummer. It's not necessarily that he isn't thinking about tomorrow so much as he is committed to getting the most out of today. While a lot of guys might have put all that bonus money toward retirement, Cerrone had other plans for it.
"I bought my sister a brand new Hummer for Christmas," he said. "It felt good, but now I'm broke. Thanks, sis."

Knock Out Investments, better known as Dutch fight management firm Golden Glory, filed a lawsuit in Clark County, Nevada, Thursday alleging Alistair Overeem breached the terms of a five-year contract with the group that runs through July 2012.
The complaint, a copy of which ESPN.com has obtained, also names Overeem's representative Collin Lam as a defendant. The filing comes one day prior to the Overeem's headlining clash against Brock Lesnar at UFC 141 in Las Vegas.
"We have a legal team," Lam told ESPN.com. "We have a great law firm in Las Vegas. A great law firm in L.A. So they're taking care of everything."
Overeem is alleged to not have paid a 30 percent commission to Knock Out Investments following his win in Strikeforce against Fabricio Werdum on June 18, 2011.

To prepare for his blockbuster fight with Brock Lesnar tomorrow night, Alistair Overeem decided to move his camp from its longtime station in Holland to the United States. After touring several facilities, The Reem finally settled on Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas.
Some wondered whether that would cause any friction between gym owner Randy Couture and the Lesnar team, seeing as how The Natural had been an integral part of Lesnar's training in the past. However, those parties involved, Lesnar included, denied that there were any issues with Overeem training at Xtreme Couture. After all, the now-retired Couture would be away from the gym for the entirety of Overeem's training filming movies.

Patricky "Pitbull" Freire (10-2 MMA, 3-1 BFC), who posted a runner-up finish in Bellator's season-four tournament, has joined the eight-man field for season six.
Bellator officials today announced his participation.
The Brazilian knockout artist recently rebounded from his tourney-finale loss to Michael Chandler with a 50-second TKO of UFC vet Kurt Pellegrino at Bellator 59.
Freire now joins Brent Weedman (18-7-1 MMA, 4-2 BFC), Rick Hawn (11-1 MMA, 3-1 BFC) and Ricardo Tirloni (14-1 MMA, 1-0 BFC) as confirmed participants in the tourney, which kicks off in March on MTV2.

The injury bug has bitten two UFC fighters.
Officials today announced that former WEC champ Mike Brown (25-8 MMA, 1-3 UFC) has been scratched from his UFC on FX 1 bout with featherweight Vagner Rocha (7-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC).
Additionally, featherweight Ricardo Lamas (11-2 MMA, 2-0 UFC) has been forced out of a UFC 143 matchup with Dustin Poirer (11-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC).
Officials didn't disclosed the nature of the injuries, and replacements haven't been named.
UFC on FX 1 takes place Jan. 20 at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn. UFC 143, meanwhile, takes place Feb. 4 at Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. Officials hadn't announced if either fight is slated for the main cards, which airs on FX and pay-per-view, respectively.

The UFC's first trip to Sweden has its first matchup.
Sources close to the event today confirmed to MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) that welterweights DaMarques Johnson (15-9 MMA, 4-3 UFC) and John Maguire (17-3 MMA, 1-0 UFC) are set to meet at UFC on FUEL TV 2. Heavy.com first reported the bout.
Although not officially announced, UFC on FUEL TV 2 takes place April 14 at Ericsson Globe Arena in Stockholm, Sweden.
FUEL TV officials expect the bulk of the preliminary and main cards to air live on the FOX-owned cable station. It's unknown whether Johnson vs. Maguire is set for the preliminary or main card of UFC on FUEL TV 2.
The spring event marks the fourth international card on the UFC's schedule in 2012. The promotion is set to visit Brazil (UFC 142), Japan (UFC144) and Canada (UFC 145) prior to Sweden.

For his first eight years or so, Adlan Amagov liked to play outside, particularly soccer. He has four brothers and one sister, and the large family was close, living in the village of Sernovodsk in the Republic of Chechnya.
Then, when he was 8 years old, Amagov's school was bombed in the opening stages of the First Chechen War. Life changed.
"In 1994, it all stopped," Amagov told MMAjunke.com (www.mmajunkie.com) through interpreter and manager Sam Kardan.
-Interesting read on the guy that's fighting Robbie Lawler in January.

Undefeated Shane Del Rosario (11-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) is the latest fighter to move from Strikeforce to its sister promotion, the UFC.
The heavyweight fighter's manager, Jason House of the Iridium Sports Agency, recently tweeted news of the new contract.
A date and opponent were not disclosed for Del Rosario's promotional debut.
Since his pro debut in 2006, del Rosario has fought primarily with EliteXC, M-1 Challenge and Strikeforce. Under the Strikeforce banner, he picked up submission wins over Brandon Cash and Lavar Johnson, as well as a TKO of Lolohea Mahe, following his 2009 debut.

Sitting at the podium for the UFC 141 pre-fight press conference, Nate Diaz insisted any drama between Donald Cerrone and him was manufactured.
"I think it was just made a little more than what it was," he said of a previous run-in with Cerrone that's turned UFC 141's co-main event into a mini-soap opera.

So UFC 141's main event hung in the balance, after all.
Frank Mir was on deck in the event that the Nevada State Athletic Commission declined to license Alistair Overeem to fight Brock Lesnar, UFC president Dana White today told MMAjunkie.com.
"I promise I didn't lie in Toronto about Alistair," White said. "I really had no idea."

LAS VEGAS – Miguel Torres' UFC release proved a rather short one.
Following a press conference ahead of Friday's UFC 141 event, UFC president Dana White was joined by the former WEC champion.
White confirmed that despite the fighter's release from the promotion earlier this month due to a controversial Twitter message he posted, Torres has rejoined the organization. Torres' representatives confirmed the move when contacted by MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).

A light-heavyweight bout between Aaron Rosa (17-4 MMA, 1-1 UFC) and James Te Huna (13-5 MMA, 2-1 UFC) is slated for March's UFC on FX 2 event.
Rosa recently tweeted news of the matchup, and MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) subsequently confirmed the planned matchup with event sources.
Featuring a Thiago Alves vs. Martin Kampmann headliner and the opening round of the UFC's four-man flyweight tournament, UFC on FX 2 takes place March 3 (and airs live in the U.S. on March 2) at Allphones Arena in Sydney, Australia.

Ed Herman will look to continue his roll since returning from a severe knee injury, attempting to capture his third straight win since the layoff when he faces Clifford Starks at UFC 143 in February.
The UFC confirmed the fight's booking on Wednesday.
Herman (19-7) has looked spectacular in his first two bouts back from ACL and meniscus damage, finishing both Kyle Noke and Tim Credeur in less than one round apiece. His win over Credeur came via TKO in just 48 seconds, and he followed that up with a submission win against Noke with a heel hook.
Prior to the injury, Herman had struggled, losing three of his last four bouts.

A lightweight bout between former WEC champ Jamie Varner (18-6-1) and UFC veteran Drew Fickett (41-16) will headline Xtreme Fighting Championships' next major event.
XFC officials announced the fight earlier today.
The show, "XFC 16: High Stakes," takes place Feb. 10 at Knoxville Civic Auditorium-Coliseum in Tennessee. The main card airs live on HDNet